Hi folks, my left HID dip beam flickered violently and went out, so I replaced the monstrously expensive bulb, it lit up, then 10 seconds later it repeated, I aquired another bulb, and the igniter (burner) changed them over and it returned to the same performance. Popped in to see the Jag dealer and they virtually want a blank check to investigate, nobody there having any idea of what I was talking about. Please, does anyone here have any ideas ? Martin.

 

Martin, this is common problem with the HIDs and can be caused by 2 problems. The more likely one being that you have a slim ballast (normally a DC version). these are known to be a weak link and causing all sorts of issues. If you do some looking, try to get your hands on some ballasts made by "Maxlux". They are an OEM provider for Toyota and once you install them, you should have no further issues.

The other possibility is that the wiring between the relay and the HID in question has a high resistance in it and this is causing too large of a voltage drop and is causing the ballast to turn itself off to prevent future damage. Keep in mind that when the HID bulb starts, it pulls about 20 amp per bulb. This is at the limit of the wiring, so, any problem with the wiring will show itself. Also keep in mind that if you converted the car from standard bulbs over to HIDs, you are actually overloading the ground wire in the headlight housing if you used the negative that went to the factory halogen bulb. If you ground the ballast to the body of the car, then this is not an issue.

If you need further assistance, let me know. I have installed a few HID systems over the years and know them all too well.

 

Bless you Thermo, hope at last. The HID setup is ex factory, a friend may be able to help me get the lamp out to change the ballast, but physically checking the wiring is beyond me, I'll try the ballast first, then go for a poke round if needed. should I use a low voltage continuity tester with the battery disconnected, or something more sophisticated ?

 

I also have the factory HID and have had similar problems. In order to remove the headlight assembly it will be necessary to remove the bumper cover. It isn't overly difficult to remove. The ballast is mounted on the bottom of the headlight assembly and isn't accessible with the light in place.
While the light assembly is out you will have access to the ground wire connection and can make sure it is clean and tight.

 

Martin, I am a little confused. What do you mean by "ex factory"?

As for checking the wiring, as long as you do this while either the battery is disconnected or the headlight is unplugged, you will be just fine. Just don't ever measure the output to the HID bulb as you apply power. There can be up to 23,000 volts on those wires. To say it will light up your world is an understatement, not to mention damage your multimeter.

 

Hi Chris, sorry, trans Atlantic gap, it came out of the factory with HIDs fitted.

 

Martin, well, we can do a few checks and you can leave your multimeter where ever it currently is. First things first, with the aide of someone else, turn on your running lights (first position from OFF). Go out and verify that the running light (small bulb on the inside light housing, what you call the main beam housing) is on. Now, while watching the running light, turn on the dip beams. Did the running light go out as the HID attempted to start? If yes, then your problem is the ground wires where they attach to the body of the car. Clean them and try this again.

Next, try swapping fuses F16 and F17 (applies to the 1st gen cars, it would be fuses F29 and F30 for the later gen cars). Did the problem switch sides of the car? If yes, then you have a bad fuse. Replace.

At this point, we will need access to a multimeter. You will also need to get access to the connector on the left headlight housing. So, at this point you will most likely need to remove the bumper cover to gain access to the headlight housing. First disconnect the connector from the back of the headlight housing and make sure that all the pins on the headlight housing look fairly silver in color (not dull gray or possibly even brown/black). If in doubt, take a small knife or scribe and gently scrape at the pins to get them shiny again. If you had to scrape at the pins, also check the connector too as those will probably also need cleaned and then plug it back together, re-performing the first check.

If nothing has changed, you will need to set the multimeter to read resistance and you will touch the red lead to pin 8 on the connector and the black lead to a bare metal point on the engine. You should see a very low resistance (under 5 ohms is good). If you are seeing more than 5 ohms, you have a bad/damaged wire. This will need to be repaired/replaced.

Next, connect up the headlight again to the wiring. Using a straightened out paper clip (or other suitable stiff piece of metal wire), slide the wire along side the wire going to Pin 5 (an orange wire with a yellow stripe at one end of the connector, the hole across from the orange/yellow wire will be empty). As you slide the wire into the connector, it will slide with a little bit of resistance, but you will feel it start catching on very hard things as you teach the point where the wire is attached to the connector pin. You want to feel the wire against the pin. Now, while preventing the wire from coming in contact with the body of the car, set the multimeter to the 20V scale and turn on the headlights (dip beams, engine may or may not be running). Touch the black lead to any metal part of the engine and the red lead to the wire you inserted. Are you getting 12 VDC, 0 VDC, or some voltage inbetween. If you are getting 12 VDC, then we have just proven that all the wiring to the headlight is good and that your problem is somewhere in the headlight assembly. If you are getting 0 VDC, try and move the wire around some as the red lead is still connnected to make sure that you are making good contact. If you can't get the multimeter to see any voltage, you most likely have a bad wire between the fuse box and the connector or a bad connection point inside the fuse box at fuse F16 (F29).

If you are getting some intermediate voltage, this is telling me that you have a bad wire that has high internal resistance. The other possibility is that the clips inside the fuse box are not holding the fuse tight and this is causing a high resistance connection. This is where someone with some electrical knowledge will be able to differentiate between the two.

If you have isolated the problem to the internals of the headlight assembly, I would start with the connector to the HID ballast and make sure that all those pins look shiny/silver in color (clean as needed). After this, you will need to hand over hand the wiring to look for any damage. You are looking for either exposed copper or the wiring making a sharp/unnatural bend (this would indicate a broken wire).

This should get you to a failed component. If this doesn't, then let me know and we can take things from there.

 

Thank you Chris, I'm content to take that lot on - you're not in education are you ? If not, you should be. Martin.

 

Martin, I work very far from education. I am an electronics tech for a nuclear power plant. Granted, my time on submarines, running a nuclear reactor, did have me doing a lot of one on one teaching and educating of the new guys coming in. I love one on one teaching, but i hate doing class room teaching. I adapt my teaching style to the person. With a room of 30 people, I can't teach the same topic 30 different ways without causing severe boredom.

 

Respect sir !

 

Wow!Give it all out what you know. Very respect to you Thermo.

 

Thang, I learned a long time ago that "a dumb man thinks he knows everything, a wise man knows how little he truely knows". I take each and every day to learn something new. You would be amazed as to what you can learn and how you can apply it to other aspects of your life. The information is out there, the question comes whether you will embrace to learn it or not.

You mix this with a healthy bit of "I wonder how this works" and you can have a very interesting day. I guess I was fortunate enough to be lucky in that I am a mechanic at heart, but an electrical guy by trade. Life on a submarine pushed me into many other areas of life too (fireman, teacher, leader, fitness coordinator, etc).

So, take each day and strive to learn something. Over time you will be able to look back and see how far you have come. Do this over 40 years like I have and well, you will have quite the collection of information.

 

Thank Thermo, that's what I'm learning (still at an old age), if you happen to come up this way please stop by, Paul is not far from me, may be we can get together.
Thang

 

Ahhh... you smart guys are all alike: Love what you do, respect each other, and share the wealth. Baah humbug!!

 

Well, I wouldn't say we're smart, but surely we should all respect each other, sir.

 

"Maxlux Slim HID Kit" is advertized as truly PnP. Anyone, Thermo, any thoughts?

 

Jag4, these would be plug and play for the fog lights, but not so much for the H1 bulbs in the X-Type. So, there is some truth, but then, there is also some fudge in the statement. The problem comes that the bulbs inside the headlight housings of the X-Type have separate connectors that are not insulated. So, unless you tie them up really good, you can have wires touching things that they shouldn't and have major issues.

Granted, I would recommend taking things a step further and getting a quality aftermarket plug with a seal if you are doing the fog lamps. That way, they will be plug and play yet will not allow water into the connection, leading to future issues.

 

Thermo, Thanks for replying. So for the H1 low beams, the MAXLUX HID Conversion Kit H1 5000K (White) are a simpler install (and less expensive). And the high beams would require a second kit? Is this correct?

Thanks for the guidance!

 

Jag4, yes, you are correct when it comes to the high beams. With the low beam (H1) bulbs, you would need to add a special spade connector on the positive wire and then a ground lug (ring lug) so you can ground it straight to the body of the car.

On the subject of the high beams, this is one of the few times that I would tell you to go nuts with the lighting. The only exception that i will put to this is that you will want to upgrade to an external relay setup if you are going above the normal 35W HIDs. I would say that if you are wanting some great high beams, find yourself a set of 50W 4300K HIDs. That will give you maximum light and still not exceed the heat rating of the headlight housings. This will be way more than the legal amount of light, but at the same time, you shouldn't have your high beams on when near another vehicle.

If you need more info, let me know.

 

Good write Thermo!

However, on the connector at the back of the housing, a ten pin connector, two rows with 5 in each, on mine, pin 5 is green with white stripe. And all ten pins have wires connected.

Is it still pin 5 to check?